Praying for Fictional Characters

“Wow, I keep almost praying for these characters! This book is so intense!”

It’s a joke, a compliment to the author, and a way of expressing that a book is very engaging. We feel rather sheepish even saying it, but I recently realized, it’s actually not that weird.

What if we actually did pray for fictional characters?

Every story is based on something–a character, a place, a situation. Behind every fictional character who evokes your compassion is a real person or at least a real type of person. Let the Holy Spirit prompt you to pray for a real person in a real situation like the one you’re reading about.

Today I started reading Threads of Blue by Suzanne LeFleur (sequel to a big favorite Beautiful Blue World). It’s a moving story involving the suspense and danger of wartime, the unique problems of being a refugee, and tough, relationship-straining decisions. It’s got some hefty stuff for such a little book when I think about it.